Forbidden Fruit
by phoebeheyerdahl1311
Summary: 25 year old Layla graduated from college and lands her dream job as a teacher at Degrassi. The student body immediately loves her. When she gets involved with a student, she may lose more than her reputation. [Features many characters]
1. I Got The Job

A/N: So I decided to write another Degrassi story one for season 12. One of my favorite seasons.

* * *

><p><em><strong>CHAPTER 1: "I GOT THE JOB!"<strong>_

Principal Simpson was in his office, rummaging through files on his desk. He seemed to be pleased with what he was reading over.

"Well Ms. Watson, I am pleased with your resume, graduating college, completing student teaching so young it's impressive. There is one question I want to ask you, why do you want to be a teacher?"

Layla was a bit nervous, but she wasn't going to let Principal Simpson see her sweat.

"It's always been my dream to teach. I want to be a positive role model for students who don't have positive role models in their lives. I want the opportunity to change lives of young adults in a positive way. I love knowledge, learning and passing it on. I am an excellent teacher, but I'm an excellent learner as well. I also love a challenge. I don't think of teaching as a job, I like to think of it as an adventure. Sort of like a boxing match, I think of the bell as the next round you know?"

Principal Simpson laughed. "That's a good way to look at it." He began writing some notes on his paper. "Well, I do want to let you know that Degrassi is not like your typical high school, we do like to have fun, _but _we do enforce rules. You have to remember, we're not their friends, we're their educators."

Layla nodded. "I completely agree."

Principal Simpson emerged from his desk and extended his hand. "Well Ms. Watson, I am pleased to inform you that you have the job. Congratulations."

Layla was excited. She was trying her best to keep her composure. She immediately embraced his hand for a firm shake.

"Thank you so much Principal Simpson! I am thrilled to be a part of Degrassi!"

"We are thrilled to have you, let me show you around and show you your new classroom."

Principal Simpson led Layla outside of the office and immediately began the tour. He began discussing the time commitment and the salary as well. Layla wasn't in for the money, she really wanted this teaching career.

* * *

><p>The bell rang, History class was finally over. <em>Thank God<em>. Dallas thought to himself as he emerged from his seat and quickly began walking down the hall. He was a really upset that the Ice Hounds lost their game last night. One more loss for them and they are out of the tournament. He also was a bit upset that things didn't go too well with Katie. Seeing her in the hallway kissing Jake didn't make things better. He was starting to hate Degrassi a little bit. He hasn't had much luck with the girls, and even got into a few fights with some of the guys, which ended his friendship with Fiona, one of the very few people in Degrassi who actually liked him as a person. He still felt guilty for what happened. He has been apologizing repeatedly to her, but she still gives him the cold shoulder. It was bad enough that he was away from home, away from his family, but now he felt even more alone being at this school.

He continued walking down the hallway and he was approached by Drew and Adam.

"So mom and dad are gonna be gone tonight until tomorrow, I say party!" Adam cheered.

They kept walking until they finally made it to Dallas' locker. He opened it and began to put his books inside. He reached inside for his gym bag.

"I have no desire for homework tonight. No desire for a stupid party either." He found his gym bag, slammed his locker, and the three of them continued walking down the hallway.

"Mike Dallas turning down a party? Why so grumpy?" Adam asked.

"He's mad because Katie dumped him." Drew laughed.

Dallas scoffed. He was upset that Katie dumped him, but his hockey team losing the game was much more important to him."Please, she's not even that good looking. She doesn't mean shit."

"Sounds like you _need_ a party." Adam said.

"I have practice tonight. We need to practice. One more loss and we're out of the tournament." Dallas said with no emotion.

"Make sure you don't put too much pressure on yourself." Adam said, "Remember you gotta have fun too."

"Adam. For the love of God! We're not having a party!" Drew yelled to his younger brother. "Do you remember the last time we had a party?"

"Hey, _I_ had a blast!" Adam darted. "Just because _you_ had girl drama doesn't mean I have to suffer."

Dallas was a bit annoyed with Adam and Drew's argument over a party. The only thing on his mind was this loss his team suffered last night. Cam really dropped the ball. At practice, he was going to make sure that wouldn't happen again.

"I'm gonna catch up with you guys later." He said to Drew and Adam as he continued walking away from them. He was making his way to the gym to get a workout and let off some steam. He continued walking down the hallway with a million and one thoughts on his mind. He passed Principal Simpson who was walking with a girl that he had never seen before. Obviously she was a new student, a very pretty new student. He would have stopped to talk to her, but seeing as she was with Principal Simpson, that wouldn't have been a good idea. He continued his walk towards the gym. He had a lot to think about.

* * *

><p>It was 5:49 pm when Layla finally arrived at her brand new house that she bought. A spotless home and the sweet scent of Lavender quickly made her feel at ease. She took off her shoes, and placed her purse and keys on the kitchen counter. She pushed her long black hair back, and let out a long sigh with a smile. She had a long day, but it was a good one. She scored her dream job at Degrassi and she spent all afternoon preparing her classroom. She felt excited, but nervous. She began taking notes about her first lesson plan for her big day tomorrow. As soon as she began writing, her phone rang. She looked to see who it was and it was her sister, Lenora.<p>

"Hello." She answered.

_"Um, yeah hello! I text you, why didn't you text back?"_

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Layla exclaimed. "I was still at the school."

_"So how'd it go?"_ Lenora asked. _"Did you get the job?"_

"Yes!" Layla squealed. "I got the job!"

_ "I'm so happy for you!"_ Lenora squealed as well.

"Yeah, I start tomorrow!" Layla said back.

_"Well, I hope you're not going to be too busy, maid of honor! Remember, you have to help me plan the rest of my wedding!"_

"Of course not!" Layla answered her sister. "I have everything under control."

_"I hope so!"_ Lenora said, _"I can't believe my wedding is in two months! I'm losing my mind!"_

"Everything will be fine." Layla tried to comfort her twin sister. She was happy for her, but at the same time, she couldn't help but sulk. Lenora was marrying the man of her dreams, while she is still recovering from a cheating former fiance. She began having flashbacks about graduation night and finding him in a compromising position with another student that was at graduation as well. All of the feelings she had of betrayal and hate came back to her. She was trying to hold back tears, but she couldn't. She loved this man with all her heart and he broke it. To make matter worse, he is now married to the woman he cheated with.

_"Lay, are you there?"_ Lenora's voice broke her trance.

"Yeah, I'm here." Layla answered back.

_"Are you okay?"_ Lenora asked. She immediately knew what her sister was thinking about.

Layla wiped away tears. "I'm fine." She answered.

_"Screw him!"_ Lenora darted, _"You just bought a killer house, landed your dream job. You worked your ass off to get this! Just focus on that. The right guy will come along."_

Layla rolled her eyes. Such a generic answer. It's so easy to tell someone to wait for love when they have it already.

"I gotta get ready for tomorrow."

_"You're still coming to dinner right?"_ Lenora asked.

"Yeah I'll be there after work." Layla answered. "It'll be good to see mom. Tell Richie I said hi."

_"I will. Good luck tomorrow. You'll be great!"_ Lenora cheered.

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later." Layla hung up the phone. She went into her cupboard and grabbed a wine glass. She opened her near empty refrigerator and opened it. She immediately grabbed her bottle of wine and poured some of it into her glass, and took a sip. She grew more nervous because of dinner with her mother tomorrow. She needed something to get these nerves out of her system. She continued taking notes on her notepad, preparing herself for her first day of teaching.


	2. Liven Up

_**CHAPTER 2: LIVEN UP**_

Dallas was completely winded from practice, but it was well worth it. There was no way they were going to lose another game. He arrived at home and saw Drew and Bianca making out on the couch. He was completely annoyed, the last thing he wanted to see was another couple kissing all over each other when he just got dumped.

"Why don't you guys get a room?" He jerked. Drew and Bianca stopped kissing and looked up at Dallas.

"Sorry mopey. Just because you got dumped doesn't mean the rest of us can't be happy."

"Whatever." Dallas said as he reached for a slice of pizza out of the box that was on the table.

"So did you guys hear that we have a new English teacher tomorrow?" Bianca asked.

"Makes no difference to me." Drew darted. "I'm gonna fail anyway."

Bianca sighed, she was a bit annoyed with Drew lately. He never seems to want to apply himself when it comes to school or anything else. Sometimes, it is really hard to take him seriously as a boyfriend.

"You know you could just do the work. English isn't that hard."

"Yeah how are you failing a language you already know?" Dallas laughed.

"Shut up." Drew darted.

Dallas continued laughing as he placed his bag in his room. He took his jacket off and his shoes and made himself comfortable.

"I wonder what this teacher is gonna be like." Bianca said as she took a slice of pizza and began to eat it.

"I wonder if she's hot!" Dallas joked.

"You would say that." Drew said.

"Hey, I've seen my fair share of hot teachers before!" Dallas said back.

"You are such a pig." Bianca laughed.

"I wouldn't say pig." Dallas began, "I just have a lot of love to give. There's enough of me to go around."

Adam rushed down the stairs with bags of food and drinks.

"Adam, what are you doing?" Drew asked.

"I told you we were having a party! We are now uniform free we need to celebrate!" Adam said.

"That's more like it!" Dallas said as he began to help Adam set up. "Something to lighten up this boring night!"

Drew sighed, "We can't have a party! Mom will kill us!" He turned his attention to Dallas. "I thought you said you didn't want to have a party."

"She's not gonna find out!" Adam said. "It'll be fun plus I can't cancel because it's on Facerange and I already tweeted it."

"Dammit." Drew whispered. He knew Adam had a ton of followers so there would be a ton of people would be coming.

"C'mon live it up!" Dallas said to Drew. "I need a rebound chick to smash."

"Hey Bianca can you help me with the cooler?" Adam asked Bianca. She nodded and left to help Adam. "And Dallas, we need a keg asap!"

"I' m on it!" Dallas answered back.

"I planned a special night for me and Bianca," Drew whispered to Dallas.

Dallas scoffed, "Yeah pizza and a movie real special."

"No." Drew began, "I mean I planned a _special_ night, you know…"

"Oh you planned on swiping your v-card tonight?" Dallas asked loudly as he laughed.

"Shhhhh!" Drew yelled. "Can you be any louder?"

Dallas grinned as he continued to help Adam with the party.

* * *

><p><strong><em>**several hours later**<em>**

The Torres house was filled with Degrassi students who have done their fair share of drinking, including Drew.

"This party was the best idea ever!" He yelled to Dallas with a drunken slur.

"I told you guys!" Adam chimed in. He had been drinking as well, but not as much as the other two. Bianca wasn't happy with Drew's drinking.

"I think you should calm down!" She tried to yell over the loud music and rambunctious noise of the party guests.

"What?" Drew yelled back.

Bianca was frustrated, the last thing Drew needed to be doing was drinking and partying.

"I think you need to stop drinking!" She yelled again as she tried to take his drink out of his hand, but he snatched away from her.

"Can you just stop and have a little fun? You're not being very fun right now!" He yelled in a drunken slur.

"You said you planned a special night for us! You call this special?" Bianca yelled in anger.

Drew in his drunken state was getting annoyed with Bianca's constant nagging. She never lets him have any fun and all she ever wants to talk about is school and university applications. He already knew he was going to fail this term so he didn't care too much about school.

"You know what? I don't care. If you want to go, then go! I'm trying to have a good time!"

Bianca scoffed, "I'm going to go study for my chem test tomorrow. I can't deal with this right now." She grabbed her keys and left the party in anger. While Drew continued drinking and acting obnoxious.

Dallas was also drunk with glee. He had one too many drinks out of the 'trophy of power.' He took a few more sips out of his cup and fixed his eyes on a cute blonde. He didn't know her name but he knew she had a reputation of hooking up with guys, and he has seen her around school a few times but never got the chance to talk to her. She was the perfect candidate for his rebound hookup. She seemed to be exchanging looks with him as well and she seemed to be reciprocating, now would be a good time.

"Hey cutie!" He approached her.

"Hey!" She smiled back as she took a sip of her drink. She was a little drunk, perfect.

"Having a good time?" He asked while he took another sip of his drink.

She shrugged, "I am, but this party could liven up a little bit."

"So what do you suggest?" He already knew the answer to this question. If there's one thing Mike Dallas understood was drunk slutty girls.

"I don't know." She answered seductively, "What do you want to do?"

He smiled, this was working like a charm, "I can think of a couple things I would like to do."

"Well why don't you show me." She said as she took his hand and they went to his room. Dallas closed the door and locked it, and closed the curtains behind him.


	3. New Teacher

_**CHAPTER 3: NEW TEACHER**_

Layla arrived at Degrassi ready to go, she was excited to see what her students were going to be like, before she could teach she needed to go to Principal Simpson's office to receive her I.D. After she made her way past security she dashed into Principal Simpson's office. He looked up from his desk.

"Good morning Layla!" He greeted with a smile. "Are you excited for your first day?"

"I am." Layla answered with glee, "I am a little nervous as well."

He pulled out her I.D and handed it to her.

"Don't be nervous, you'll do just fine." Principal Simpson said.

"Thanks." She said as she left his office. She sighed hoping and praying that she could get through the day.

* * *

><p>Dallas was a bit hungover from drinking too much at the party, but he was also feeling like a new man, a killer party and a hookup with a cute blonde definitely got his mojo back. He made his way to his locker with the rest of his teammates. Who were also in a good mood from last night.<p>

"Party was awesome dude!" Luke Baker exclaimed.

"Drew streaking through the yard was _epic_!" Owen Milligan said, as they laughed.

"Wait, Drew went streaking?" Dallas asked, "How the hell did I miss that?"

"Because you were humping that honey in your room." Owen answered.

"Damn." Dallas couldn't help but sulk, he could have caught that on camera. That was definitely something he could blackmail Drew with.

"Who was that girl anyway?" Luke asked.

Dallas shrugged, "I don't know, I think her name was Christie or something."

Luke and Owen burst into laughter, "You don't even know her name?" Owen managed to ask through his laughter.

"No, and I really don't care." Dallas said as the bell rang. First class of the day, English. He remembered Bianca talking about a new teacher today. That didn't matter to him, he was passing, only because he was in the class lower than his fellow seniors, except Drew. He entered the classroom that was already filled with his other classmates, but no teacher in sight. He sat in front of Drew who wasn't looking well at all.

"You OK?" Dallas asked, trying his best to hold in a laugh.

Drew sighed, "My head is pounding, I feel sick, and Bianca won't talk to me. What happened last night?"

"You guys got in a fight and I guess you went streaking through the yard. Sucks I missed it though."

Drew sighed, he knew that it wasn't going to be easy to make up with Bianca. The two of them have been arguing a lot lately and the last thing he wanted to do was break up, again.

"What should I do about Bianca?" Drew asked.

Dallas was ready for an answer, but he was immediately taken away by the pretty girl that just walked in the room. The same girl he saw with Principal Simpson yesterday but couldn't talk to.

"Check out that hottie." He said to Drew.

"Dallas, checking out other girls isn't gonna help my-woah." Drew seemed to be taken as well.

"Settle down everyone!" She yelled as the class became quiet.

"No way." Dallas said quietly as she began her lecture figuring out that she wasn't a student.

"Good morning class, I'm Layla Watson, but to all of you, I am Ms. Watson, and I am your new English teacher. First I will start with taking attendance. So when I call your name, just raise your hand or just simply say here."

As Layla, or Ms. Watson began calling the names of students in the class, with each student establishing they were present, Dallas stared at her in awe. He must have been predicting the future in some weird way when he said he was hoping for a hot teacher. She didn't even look like an adult. The plaid shirt, skinny jeans and heeled boots didn't exactly scream teacher either, but that can be a good thing, she did look good, and at least she won't be strict like the rest of them. She seemed like she was a bit of a know it all nerd, but she was still very sexy in some way, sexier than Ms. Oh.

"Mike Dallas." She called as she looked around.

Dallas continued staring at her, tuning out everything. He still could not believe that she was a teacher. She was way too pretty.

"Dallas!" Drew punched his shoulder and broke his trance

"What?" Dallas darted back clutching his shoulder.

"She called you dumbass." Drew darted.

"Oh! Um, here!" Dallas raised his hand. "Just call me Dallas."

Ms. Watson smiled, "Okay, I apologize, Dallas."

"No need." Dallas said back, getting a bit nervous. Her smiling at him made him feel some type of way.

After about a minute of taking attendance, Ms. Watson began her lecture for the day.

"Since I am a new teacher, I would like to use this week to establish a few rules in my classroom and also some icebreaker activities for a chance for me to get to know you guys and see what you're all about. First, and most important rule, be on time, if you are late you will miss important discussion topics, important due dates, and I certainly don't want anyone to be behind, so please, be on time for this class-"

Drew toned out Ms. Watson, the only thing he was concerned about was Bianca.

"Okay, so what did I say to her last night? Why is she so mad at me?"

Dallas sighed and rolled his eyes, he was getting sick of the constant drama between Drew and Bianca. He was tired of getting in the middle of it. Every time they 'break up' they would both run to him and talk about how stupid the other one was. He liked hanging out with them, but when they fight, neither one of them are fun to hang with.

"Dude, I don't know, I was drunk last night too." The last thing Dallas wanted to talk about was Drew's relationship problems.

"I have a few documents I would like you to look over," Ms. Watson continued, "The first one is an the list of rules that I just went over with you, the second is the grading rubric for most of the assignments, and the third is all of the assignments and readings that we will cover this term. Um, Dallas, can you hand these out for me?"

Dallas sighed, trying to regain his composure. Pretty girls never make him nervous. He emerged from his seat to Ms. Watson who handed him a stack of papers. He scolded Drew for laughing at him quietly while he passed the documents around the class. _Idiot. _He thought to himself. It's so easy for him to laugh because he has no care for school. It's hard for other students to believe that Dallas has a good rapport with the some of the teachers at this school. Who could resist his charm and smile?

He continued handing out papers while Ms. Watson continued her lecture.

"So what I want to do today is a little ice breaker. We're going to play a little game."

The class echoed whispers of excitement.

"Does this mean we have no homework?" Drew asked.


	4. Showing Off

**CHAPTER 4: SHOWING OFF**

It was lunchtime and Layla was in the teacher's lounge enjoying her lunch. She looked at her phone to see a text from her sister giving her the address for dinner tonight. She was excited about going because she hasnt seen her mother in a few weeks, but she didn't want to deal with her mother's attitude about her becoming a teacher. She wasn't in the mood for her constant nagging and judgement.

She took a huge bite of her sandwich.

"Excuse me." She heard a male's voice from behind her.

She quickly swallowed her bite and turned around to see a tall slender man with black hair. He was definitely older than her.

"You must be Layla, the new teacher, I'm Dominic Perrino. It's nice to meet you."

He extended her hand, and she accepted his firm handshake. She watched him as she took a seat next to her and began to enjoy his lunch as well.

"It's nice to meet you too." Layla smiled back. "How long have you been teaching here?"

"Well over 10 years." He answered. "I just about seen it all here."

Layla nodded as she continued eating her lunch.

"So what advice do you have for a rookie?" She asked.

Mr. Perrino now began eating his lunch, "Don't let them control your classroom. Students tend to take advantage of younger teachers. How old are you anyway?"

Layla blushed a little bit, she knew that some of the older teachers may give her grief for being so young.

"I'm 25." She answered.

"And you graduated from NYU?" Perrino asked.

Layla nodded, "Yeah I did. I loved it there in New York."

"So you go from big time school in New York to little ol' Degrassi?" Perrino asked.

"Yeah well I decided to move back home, to be closer to my family. My mom isn't getting any younger."

Mr. Perrino nodded, "I understand. So um, if you are not doing anything, I would love to maybe have a drink or something."

Layla was taken back a bit, she wasn't sure of Mr. Perrino was befriending her or wanted a date.

"Any night, but tonight, I'm going to dinner with my family."

Mr. Perrino nodded, "Okay, well definitely another day."

"Yeah sure." Layla answered back still unsure if going out with him would be a good idea. Although she did enjoy having lunch with him, the last thing she needed was a date right now.

* * *

><p>Dallas was having lunch with his Ice Hounds teammates. He was excited about his big game tonight, especially when Cam came up with a new play that may help them.<p>

"Boys! Carbo load! We gotta be prepared for the night!" Dallas announced to his team.

"Yeah Cam! You messed up last time, if you mess up again I'll make your life hell!" Luke exclaimed angrily to Cam.

Dallas saw the look on Cam's face. The same look he gives off every day. Scared, and nervous. He was trying his best not to show it.

"Lay off him." Dallas defended him, "You weren't any better either."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"So has anybody catch a glimpse of that super hot English teacher today?" Owen quickly changed the subject to something to lighten the mood.

Luke's smile instantly changed from a frown to a smile. "Yeah she's really hot! I'd like to have detention with her!"

The rest of the team roared with laughter and high fives. Dallas definitely agreed with Luke.

"I'd definitely bend her over the desk and show her my ruler!" The rest of the team continued to laugh, except for Cam.

"That's not right guys. She's a teacher, come on."

Dallas scoffed, "Can't expect you to understand, Saunders, you couldn't handle a real woman anyway, you like little girls!"

Once again the team roared with laughter.

"Well since you seem to be the _woman_ handler, big C, there she is. I'll bet you 50 bucks that you can't talk to her." Owen said with a smile

Dallas couldn't help but laugh, "You are daring me to a girl? Are you kidding me? This is what I do!"

"Yeah, but not just a girl, a teacher dude, way different ball game."

Dallas didn't want to admit it, but Owen was right, but he isn't one to turn down a bet. He noticed her walked in the hallway with Mr. Perrino. He got a bit nervous but he didn't want the team to see him sweat.

"Go! She's right there." Owen prompted.

Dallas got over as much nerves as he could and made his way to Ms. Watson who was still talking to Mr. Perrino. He didn't want to make it look obvious so he pretended to look away while he was walking and bumped into her. He tried his best to hide his excitement but he was so close to her, she smelled really good. Ms. Watson instantly turned around and smiled, which caused him to melt a little bit, but he kept his cool. He didn't want to seem like a wimp.

"Hey! Mike Dallas!" She greeted.

"Hey Ms. Watson!" He greeted back nervously. "I didn't mean to run into you, I was in a hurry, I got this assignment I need to work on."

Ms Watson smiled back, "Well don't let me stop you."

He began to walk away, but he wanted to make this chat seem legit.

"Actually, while I've got you, do you think you can help me? I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding the assignment."

"I've gotta go, I'll talk to you guys later." Mr. Perrino walked away while Ms. Watson turned her attention to Dallas. "So what are you having trouble with? All you have to do is write a paragraph about yourself."

Dallas chuckled a bit, perfect ice breaker.

"Well it's kind of hard to write about yourself, especially when you're going through things."

Ms. Watson, nodded, "I understand, well if you have some time after school I can definitely help you."

"I have a little time before hockey practice." He smiled.

"Okay well I'll see you then." She smiled back. He watched her walk away, and he couldn't help but feel excited, she definitely had nice assets. He made his way back to the guys in the cafeteria.

"I believe you owe me 50 bucks." He teased Owen.

"Aw, damn." Owen reached in his pocket, he made an attempt to hand it to him, but he snatched it back, 100 bucks if you can get her alone."

Dallas let of a cocky laugh, "She's helping me after school, you might as well hand that over to me too."

Owen scoffed, went in his pocket again and pulled out another $50 and handed it to him.

"Ok, boob master, I'll make an ultimate bet, 200 bucks if you can get her _alone_."

The team roared with cheers and high fives.

"Oh hell yeah!" Luke cheered.

"You guys realize that _she is a teacher,_ you're too young for her and she could get in trouble." Cam's remark caused the whole team to become quiet.

"Technically no, I am 18." Dallas said back.

"But she could still get in trouble and lose her job." Cam darted.

"Shut up loser! She won't get in trouble!" Luke said. "Just keep it a secret!"

Dallas was listening to both of his teammates, each one had a valid point. It would be completely hot to have bed a teacher he was crushing on, but if anything were to happen, she could end up in a lot of trouble. He didn't want to turn down this big bet Owen was proposing, but he didn't want to be the reason a teacher lost their job.

"Guys, I don't even know, she probably has a boyfriend, or married, she's way too hot not to be married or with a boyfriend."

Owen smiled, "No way, I'm not letting you bitch your way out of this one. You say you can have anyone you want so I wanna see you in action. Find out if she's single dumbass. If you're this big ladies man then it shouldn't be an issue anyway."

Dallas sighed, he knew he was taking a big risk, but he didn't want to look like a wimp in front of his boys. He was the captain after all, he had to set the bar high.

"Ok, make is 300, if she's single, you got a deal. I can work my magic on a teacher."

"Alright, I'll give you a couple of months." Owen said.

They both shook hands.

"This is gonna be good!" Luke exclaimed.


	5. Tutoring

**CHAPTER 5: TUTORING**

The bell rang, and Layla finally finished teaching her last class for the day. She was a bit amused considering this was the freshmen class. They definitely took the game 'two truths and a lie' to a whole new level, but she was glad they got a kick out of it. She laughed a little thinking about Tori Santamaria and Tristian Milligan asking her if she was Kim Kardashian. This was going to be an interesting school year. She sat at her desk because she was expecting Dallas. She knew it was going to take him a few minutes to get here. She didn't have any papers to grade yet so she didn't have much to do.

She reached inside her bag and pulled out a few wedding books. She had a few ideas she wanted to present to Lenora at dinner so she needed to mark the pages. She began to flip through the book slowly, she sulked a little bit, she saw a few ideas that would have been cute for her wedding, if she had one. She began to feel sad again, all of this wedding planning just brought her back to her ex-fiance cheating on her. She had to admit, seeing all this wedding stuff was not what she wanted to look at right now, but she was the wedding planner, and the maid of honor, so she had to do right by her sister, at least one them could be happily married. She continued flipping the pages and marking them, still looking at possible designs for her future wedding, maybe, if she ever has one.

She was interrupted by a strong male voice.

"Ms. Watson?"

Her trance was immediately broken, she looked to the door to see Dallas standing there.

"I wanted to talk about the homework assignment, if you're not too busy."

Layla closed her book and motioned for Dallas to come in. "I'm not busy at all I'm glad you're here."

Dallas entered the room and sat in a desk in the front row. He took off his hockey jacket. Layla moved in front of her desk and slightly leaned on it.

"You are very well dressed for school." She said to him.

"It's game day, coach wants us to dress up." He answered back.

"Oh, ok." Layla said, noticing that he did look really nice, "So what are you having trouble with?" She asked him.

Dallas let off a fake sulk. He didn't need any help with this assignment at all, but he had to act as though he did need help.

"I just have a lot going on. I'm having a hard time balancing things, hockey, homework, girls."

Layla nodded. "So this is about a breakup?"

_Not really. _Dallas thought, but he did recently get dumped by Katie. He was a bit upset about it, he really did like her, but now he's completely over it. The break up is the perfect thing to talk about, maybe even get her to open up as well, just a little bit.

"Yeah, she dumped me for another guy. She basically used me to get him to ask her out. She liked him more I guess."

"Dallas I'm so sorry." Layla said. She definitely knew what that felt like, being dumped. She took a look at Dallas' face. He looked so sad. He was a very handsome young man, and his heart was broken. He was living proof that getting dumped can happen to anyone.

"Well, don't focus on that." She continued. "Focus on the positives. What other things do you like? What makes you happy?"

"I like hockey I mean, I play other sports, but hockey, it's my whole life." Dallas answered.

"I bet you're good!" Layla said with excitement trying to cheer him up.

Dallas smiled and let off a chuckle. "I am the team captain."

"See? You're athletic, you obviously have leadership skills. I bet you're pretty smart too. How are your grades?"

"Mostly A's and B's, the occasional C, math is not my best subject." Dallas answered.

Layla chuckled, "Mine isn't either, thank God I decided to teach English."

They both laughed a little bit, then Layla said, "Ok, good, start with that, start with your love of hockey and just take it from there."

Dallas nodded, _pretty good advice _he thought to himself. He was going to do that anyway. He took a glance at her desk and noticed wedding magazines. _Fuck. _He thought. She's getting married. He was definitely going to have to tell Owen the bet was off. Now he sulked for real. There was nothing he could do about it, but he didn't like the fact that she was getting married. He still wanted to talk for her for a little bit before he got on the bus to go to his game. He watched her tie her long black hair into a bun. She looked cute even with her hair up.

"I don't know," He began, "Just been kind of hard to focus lately, I didn't play my best because I was too focused on what happened."

Layla shook her head. "Don't blame yourself, or the breakup for the loss. It's not your fault. These kinds of things are going to take some time, but don't let it get to the point where you can't do what you love. You have your whole future ahead of you, and just by talking to you on my first day of teaching here tells me that it's looking pretty bright."

Dallas nodded again, pretty solid advice. Now he could see why she was getting married. Not only was she intelligent and cute, but she seemed to be a very caring person. Of course she was getting married. Any man would want a woman like that as a wife. She was so sweet. Her future husband is a very lucky guy. He looked at the clock, he only had a few minutes to get to his bus.

"I better get going." He said. "Can't be late for game day."

Layla nodded, "Of course." She smiled, "Good luck and don't let this break up get to you, there are plenty of fish in the sea."

Dallas smiled as he emerged from his desk. He grabbed his jacket and put it on. "Thank you so much Ms. Watson." He said as he began to leave, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I want to see a smile on that face." Layla said to Dallas.

"You will." He said as he walked out of the classroom. He began walking throughout the school. He stopped by his locker to get his gym bag.

"Hey where were you man? Coach was looking for you." Cambell approached him.

"Had to get some help in my English assignment Saunders." Dallas answered abruptly. He was still feeling some way about Ms. Watson being engaged. Seeing those wedding magazines on her desk did not put him in a good mood. Hearing Cambell's voice annoyed him more.

"Are you seriously going to go through with that stupid bet you and Owen made?"

Dallas sighed hinting frustration, "Why don't you mind your business and worry about the game tonight. We need to win tonight!"


End file.
